heckinooc | MARCH/APR TEST DRIVE

MARCH/APR TEST DRIVE

MARCH TEST DRIVE

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A.SPRING FLOWERS INTRO - GARDEN

[Things are starting to warm up in the garden! Slowly and gently, things have begun to defrost. The saturated pink flowers from February have given way to gentle speckles of clover and bright flushes of green, knocking away the winter frost. Daffodils in bright yellow and white greet garden visitors.

Your local cherubs and imps have noticed that getting people to meet each other can be hard. Perhaps people just aren't as social in the worlds they come from! Surely, everyone's just too frozen stiff from the winter weather to break the ice!

Not to worry. They've got a solution! Visitors to the Garden this month will find a nametag affixed to their clothing again, but this time the nametag is here to do the work for you. When another person approaches or even just passes by, the nametag happily speaks up and describes a fun, short fact about its wearer!

Most of these facts are correct… but there's no telling whether or not they're anything you actually want to share. After all, it's not like the cherubs— or the nametags— asked.

B. IN LIKE A LION - PRIDE RING

It's Game Day in the Pride Ring— which is every day, of course. If you've taken the elevator down to floor one today you're inevitably swept up in the crowds, each eager to participate in and cheer for the public Obstacle Course Race.

You're slapped together with a partner and made to wait in line with them as pairs catapult themselves over platforms, jump through rings of fire, climb rocky crags, and swing over pools of steaming water to try and ring a buzzer. Pairs that make it to their destination get a sinful prize— two bottles of a prized hell drink that gives its drinker an ego trip the same way an energy drink would give you a buzz, and a shiny gold-colored badge with their name on it.

The only catch? Both competitors have to make it through to the end for either to receive a prize.

Maybe you're waiting in line, or perhaps you're going through with your partner— or maybe you've just gotta try and book it before anyone catches you. If you won, why not try enjoying that drink together?

C. OUT LIKE A LAMB - HUMILITY RING

[Those who found their way to the peaceful Humility ring are subject to a much less stressful experience. A cherub has organized a small scavenger hunt in hopes of getting folks to explore more of the ring— you know, if they don't mind. It isn't much, but they just hope you'll take advantage of all they have to offer, after all.

The tasks include:

taking a selfie with someone in a bookshop

sharing a coffee with a new friend at a coffee shop with an animal on the sign

trading a handmade gift with a denizen from heaven or hell

wearing a pair of lion ears

…and other such cozy things. Really, it's a relaxing place to be.

Oddly enough, the place seems a bit more fortunate during the month, too. You might end up getting doubles of anything you obtain in the Humility ring— all the more reason to share with a friend!]

Wildcard

You can come up with whatever posts you like, too, including posts to the network!

OOC NOTES:
-This TDM is open to all! You do NOT need to join the comm to play in it!
-This will be the TDM for March/April, but you're free to use old ones if you prefer, or make your own prompts!
-Already in game? Get accepted during March? Jump into our Feb/March Plotting meme to jumpstart.
-As a reminder, THIRD CHARACTER APPS are now street legal!
-Post questions for the mods here
-Remember, playing in the TDM does NOT guarantee your entry or app being accepted into the game proper later down the line!
-Apps open!! Be sure to read the rules linked there and check the current taken list!
-For current or new potential players: TDMs count as game canon AND threads may be used for AC if you wish! It's optional! You can do a whole thread and then decide it's not canon if you want!
-Remember regardless of your alignment, you are free to travel to whatever level you wish!

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

[I] SPRING FLOWERS;

[Lydia can feel the tell-tale signs of a headache beginning to form behind the furrow of her brows.

Here she is, standing amidst a riot of flowers like the biggest sore thumb in the world. Arms crossed she's got her gaze on those daffodils, a frown on her lips. She's already been kind of caught up on things ... or as far as Abe and Lucy explain anything.

Which that's a whole other thing altogether and one she refuses to think on right now while she circles around the whole issue of, y'know --]

Dead. I'm dead? I'm dead.

[Is she talking to the flowers? Is it their fault? Who knows. Whoever comes anywhere close to the girl in the dark dress will of course activate her name tag as it practically screams:]

Hi! I'm Lydia Deetz! I have a dead mom!

[Lydia's gaze shoots immediately down to her name tag. She'd seen it but it was just a name tag so ..

Lydia's expression sours more. She'd be more imposing if this upset hadn't made her sprout a comically typical crimson red spaded tail whiplashing wildly behind her as she reaches for the name tag.]

I can introduce myself when I want to.

[II] IN LIKE A LION;

[Lydia might be the moodiest gothic teenager ever but the one thing she does like to do is play with fire -- literally and figuratively. Hey, she'd had a great time pulling pranks with her dead bestie so the idea of an obstacle course despite being tiring sounds kind of fun in a way?

Right now she's turned to her partner in front of those rings of fire, demanding:]

Throw me.

[...]

Through the ring! Throw me through it!

[Should she really look so eager for this?]

[III] WILDCARD;

[Feel free to hit me up with any other prompt you like! I'm open to the humility ring prompts too and anything else you like. PMs are open for your plotting needs.]

[ Lydia's plight goes unnoticed at first by the heareafter's resident striped bastard. He is flitting through the garden on his tiny wings with a stack of papers under one arm, a few tacks in his lips, and a hammer in one hand. ]

[ He brushes past Lydia without apology and pauses at a nearby tree to nail up a flyer. It advertises only the BEST AND COOLEST bar in Hell, The Devil's Nest. He has to do this often thanks to those darn sheep redecorating all the time. When he's finished, he turns around and bustles past her again--however this time, his neck twists around with such force that a grisly crack can be heard. He stares at the teen, bug-eyed, and swallows the tacks so that he can speak. ]

YOU!

[To be fair Lydia doesn't even notice the stripy bastard either. She's too busy trying to pull this name tag off of her without ripping her dress. Does it not have a pin? A hook? Something?

It's the grisly crack of his neck that draws her attention. Look at this weird stripy guy with his wings and -- okay, no. She squints at him as he stares at her. The stripes aren't quite right, the wrong colors and all that but --

He swallows the tacks, yells and Lydia sort of sags in place once he does. She rolls her eyes skyward.]

This really is hell.

[ Beetlejuice drops the flyers and points at her. He has only known Lydia Deetz for like...a day...less than a day...but she left quite a mark on him by being the first person to see him in decades and also the first person to ditch him so thoroughly for a pair of milquetoast newlydeads. ]

Looks like your new pals really came through for you, huh?

[ He gives her a big old stinkface. He has been living in absolute paradise for an entire year, he has no reason to be this bitchy to a dead girl, but here we are.]

I told you not to jump!

[Okay, sure, maybe the hell line was a little much. Shockingly they had left off on good terms after all, wedding murder aside. Now he's talking about new pals though and there's no one else that could be. Not to mention the whole jumping thing which --

She makes a stinkface right back at him just on principal alone. She drops her name tag finally and points right back at him for good measure too.]

What do you mean not jump? Do you have worms in your brain or something?

[... Then again. Lydia pauses as her own stinkface disappears and is replaced with a smirk as she draws back now, standing straight with a hand on her hip.]

Or did you think I was going to try that trick again just because you left? I may be a widow but I'm not exactly grieving.

[She's more of the black widow kind, right?]

Edited (MY brain is full of worms) 2025-03-10 03:48 (UTC)

[ Beetlejuice spreads his wings, sticks out his heels, and drops so that he can plant them in the grass before Lydia. ]

No, the boss gave me a dewormer, I'll have you know!

[ He quickly runs over her next words and finds himself stumbling when he can't hook into something familiar to be mad about. Left? Widow? ]

[ Beetlejuice tilts his head and leans in. ]

Hw-wha now?

[... Huh? What?

He leans in, obviously confused and for a moment Lydia's first impulse is to take a step back. Yet his obvious confusion sort of ticks her off?

Her brow furrows again and this time she leans in too, eyes narrowing at him.]

Are you playing dumb with me or something?

[Her tail starts whipping madly behind her again. Why is she even mildly upset he doesn't seem to remember? She doesn't care!]

[ His lower lip pushes outward. ]

I didn't go anywhere except straight into Sandworm Land! And...well...here, I guess...

[ His dirty feathers, which had been bristling without him knowing it, slowly unfluff. His halo sags to one side as his mouth quirks to the other. Oh, huh. This mall goth is his savior. ]

Let's walk that back, hold up, hold up, hold up, put 'er there!

[ He tosses the hammer aside and snatches up one of her hands with both of his before vicariously pumping it up and down. ]

I owe you, kid!

[The amount of force he's putting into that shake isn't quite enough to throw her off balance but it sure does make her sway some on her feet.

Her brow furrows even more.]

You owe me?

[For sending him to Sandworm Land? Well ... that did help get rid of Juno so maybe that was something to be grateful for in his opinion. He didn't seem to have a lot of love for his own mother and she can't exactly blame him considering who she is.

Her expression eases out into something easier but curious.]

What do you owe me for exactly?

For shoving me off that roof!

[ His hands slide out of his sleeves, still shaking Lydia's, but revealing gnarly red stumps at the wrists. He steps back and a fresh pair of hands pop out of his cuffs so that he can gesture with them. ]

One minute, I'm falling to my double-death. Cast-off! Rejected! Nay, betrayed!

[ Oop--! Here comes the anger again. He fixes her with a resentful little glare before reigning his attention back to his good fortune. ]

The next thing I know, I'm here in the garden with these babies!

[ He jerks two thumbs back over his shoulders and spreads his wings. ]

And the rest, as they say, is history! Now then...

[ He props an elbow on an invisible edge and crosses the toe of one boot over the other, the picture of casualty. ]

What happened to you?

[What does it say about her that the gruesome little stumps don't really shock her. She does shake off those hands in the next moment but it's in an utterly casual way as she takes in what he's saying.

Throwing him off the roof feels like a lifetime ago even if she knows it isn't but that's where his memory stops? Was it being here that did it? No, that didn't seem right.

She's obviously thinking this over, arms crossed and expression clearly distracted.]

Mm? Oh, no clue. I don't remember dying.

[It's casually said until she stops in place and quirks a brow.]

... Why don't I remember if you do?

[ Beetlejuice brings a wing around in front of him and preens at it idly with his fingers as Lydia speaks. He seems to consider, lips pursing, brows furrowing, but then his expression fades into a broad shrug with both shoulders. ]

Ehhhhh, I dunno. I've met a few people here who actually came from different Heavens and Hells, so it's probably a whole superhero multiverse type thing. Just imagine--

[ He outstretches an arm, presenting the yawning void of time and space. ]

There's another me out there somewhere who's somehow even hotter!

[Lydia lays a real doubtful look on the man at this whole 'hotter' business. She could argue he'd have to be hot to begin with but instead she waves a hand at him.]

Okay, so let's say I buy that idea.

[She pauses here, drawing out her words a bit.]

What if we say .... in theory here. That I remember a whole lot more happening after the whole roof-shove-thing.

[Her brows perk upward.]

So is that another superhero multiverse thing?

[ This gets the ghouls' head a-tilting again. He supposes that could be just as true as his hot doppelganger. It would explain Lydia's attitude, because up until she ditched him, they'd been getting along swimmingly in his mind.]

Okay, I'll play ball. What do you remember?

Let's see ...

[For a moment Lydia stands in place ticking things off on her fingers.]

So we ruined Charles and Delia's dinner party, they ran out so we spent a few days just scaring random people who came by.

[Okay, maybe now she's smiling over the memory. It was undeniably the most fun she'd had in a while after all. It fades off though as she starts pacing.]

Then you got real ticked off for basically no reason.

[She just needed to get the book open, you know?]

[ Beetlejuice bobs his head in time with Lydia's numbered list until her report on his bad behavior. ]

[ Beetlejuice props his fists on his hips. ]

Well that doesn't sound like me at all.

[ Beetlejuice has the same destructive separation anxiety as an untrained husky. ]

[Lydia gives an amused snort, cocking a brow up.]

Oh it doesn't at all, does it.

[She nods herself now like she totally buys his words. And then in a sweetly innocent tone:]

I mean all I did was stop the scaring to go talk the Maitlands into opening the Handbook for the Recently Deceased for me. You know, so I could go find my mom and all that. Isn't that a silly thing to get mad over?

[Isn't it? How silly! Why yes she's still kind of mad over that, thanks.]

[ Beetlejuice wrinkles his nose. ]

Ugh, you mean you and I had a full on haunt party and you still went back to those wet blankets? Come on, babe! What do those bedsheets got that I don't got?

[Lydia rolls her eyes, ready to speak up in the Maitlands defense and all because they were good to her but ...]

I mean ... sort of good point. Kind of.

[Okay, no. She waves a hand in the air then.]

It wasn't anything to get mad over though! And it just really complicated everything.

Lydia Deetz | Beetlejuice the Musical

Spring Flowers

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spring flowers omg hi

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[II] IN LIKE A LION;

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